On RSS request, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh transfers Ravinder Gosain murder probe to NIA
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh has ordered that the probe into the murder of RSS leader Ravinder Gosain be handed over to the NIA.
In Short
- Punjab CM Amarinder Singh transfers probe into RSS leader's murder to NIA.
- Singh said he was acting on a request made by the RSS.
- 60-year-old Ravinder Gosain was shot dead by bike-borne assailants earlier this week.
The National Investigative Agency, India's top counter-terrorism agency, is likely to probe the recent murder of a senior RSS leader in Punjab.
Captain Amarinder Singh, the chief minister of Punjab, said on Twitter that after receiving a request from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, he has ordered the transfer of the murder case to NIA for "better coordination between central agencies & Punjab police".
There was no immediate confirmation from the NIA on whether the agency would begin an investigation into the October 17.
60-year-old Ravinder Gosain, the RSS functionary who was murdered, was shot dead by two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants in Ludhiana's Kailash Nagar on Tuesday. The murder took place in the morning while Gosain was returning from a drill at a local RSS shakha.
On request of @RSSorg, I've ordered transfer of Gosain murder case to NIA for better coordination between central agencies & Punjab police.- Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) October 19, 2017
In the immediate aftermath of the murder, the Punjab police constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police-rank officer to probe the killing.
An official spokesperson said that orders handing over the murder probe to the NIA probe were issued by Chief Minister Amaridner Singh on the request of an RSS delegation that met him at his residence today.
The chief minister acceded to their request taking into account the "international ramifications" of the case, the spokesperson added.
CM Amaridner Singh also announced a Rs 5 lakh compensation for the murder RSS leader's family and a government job for one of Gosain's four children.
The spokesperson went on to say that the investigations into similar incidents that took place in the past indicated that assailants' handlers were operating from foreign soil.
Sharing the RSS delegation's concern over the murder, the chief minister condemned the act, saying there was no place for such violence in the state.
Asserting that his government would not tolerate such lawlessness, CM Singh said his administration was taking all measures to prevent such targeted killings.
Singh assured the delegation that the state police was working hard to solve all the previous similar cases and that he had issued directions for expediting the investigations.
No effort would be spared to catch the culprits and bring them to book in cases of targeted killings, which were clearly aimed at destabilising the state and destroying its peace, said the chief minister.
(With PTI inputs)